[pct-l] Tents....I know, I know, beating a dead horse

[Brian Lewis]

 Brad's tent criteria include:
"Lightweight (obviously).  Preferably around 24oz. or less like the contrail
tarptent, which does not have the next feature I really want:
Ability to be used as just the net without the fly"


If you were a tad shorter *and* considered a poncho to be a good choice in
rain gear, then the Gatewood cape might be a good option (caveat: I have no
personal experience).   Or just a bug bivy from either Integral Designs or
Six Moons and take a different poncho that you pitch as a shelter as needed.

But what I'd suggest for you is to go with something like the Contrail and
get your outdoor sleeping on those clear nights that are close enough to
bug-free.   I went with just a short poncho (just in case) and a very light
bivy plus headnet for the first 700 miles last year, and had just a couple
of nights when the bugs were bothersome, slept under the stars every night.
I think I put the poncho up as a shelter one night only, and got a few drops
of water on it.  One night only the bugs were bad enough that I zipped the
minimal bug netting shut on my UL bivy.

I used a Contrail from Kennedy Meadows to the end.  I think I ended up
cowboy camping a handful of times after that, but a lot of times I was
sleeping enough under trees that I wouldn't have been able to see a lot of
sky anyway, or bugs were bad enough that I slept in the tent, or in a few
cases, clouds threatened.

To summarize, most of the best cowboy camping time for me was in the earlier
part of the trip when the bugs were mostly non-existant.


Brian Lewis / Gadget '08
http://postholer.com/brianle